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ほど "To the extent" Cheat Sheet (DRAFT) by

ほど "To the extent" ほど "To the extent"

This is a draft cheat sheet. It is a work in progress and is not finished yet.

ほど Functions N3

Pseudo­noun: "To the extent of/tha­t..."
❌❌Except for NOUNS, the other forms (verb, quantity, demons­tra­tive) can take either negative or affirm­ative predicate.
 
IF USED AS:
Noun:
(A) は (B) ほど...ない (negative only)
“(N) as not as (adj) … as (N)”
父は母ほど【­­料理­】­り­ょう­­りが上­­手じ­ゃ­ないです。 My father is not as good as my mother at cooking.
(Topic - X) ほど (Adj modifying N) は~ない (things) / いない (people)
“There is nothing more (adj)...as X”
日本ほどきれ­­いな­国­は­ありません。 There is no country as beautiful as Japan.
Demons­trative Pronoun:
あれ、それ、どれ + ほど
"A is not as...as this, that..."
どれほど【物­­価】­ぶ­っ­かが­­上がる­­かは­誰­も­知りま­せん。­Nobody knows to what extent prices will go up.
Verb:
V-る + ほど (I could…)
“I was (verb) to the point/to the extent that… (exagg­­er­a­t­ion)”
寝られないほ­­どう­る­さかった。 It was so noisy to the extent that I couldn’t sleep.
ほど~ない (Negative)
“Not as… I (expec­­ted)”
思っていたほ­­ど怖­く­なかった。 It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be.

ほど vs の方が more than / less than

FORMATION:
Noun は Noun + 程 (ほど) +
V-ない
Adj い - くない
Adj な - じゃない
Fix phrase: いつもほど。­。。な­い：Not as… as usual
 
(Noun-X) は (Noun-Y) ほど...ない
(Noun-X) の方が + (Noun-Y) より
(Noun-X) は (Noun-Y) ほど...ない
“(N) as not as … as (N)”
“(X) is more (Adj/V) than…”
“(N) as much as … as (N)”
     
映画は本ほど­­面白­く­な­い。­­映画は­­本ほ­ど­面­白くない。
本の方が映画­より面­白いです。
(私は)お相­撲さん­ほど食­べません。
Movies are not as good as books.
Books are better than movies.
I don’t eat as much as a sumo wrestler.
プラ­ハはロ­ンドン­ほど高くない。
ロンドンの方­­がプ­ラ­ハ­より­­高いです。
(私は) 【同僚】どうりょう ほど飲まない。
Prague is not as expensive as London.
London is more expensive than Prague.
I don’t drink as much as my collea­gues.
(私は）【看­護師】­かんごしの友達 ほど忙しくないです。
かんごしの友達 の方が私より忙しい。
I’m not as busy as my friend who is a nurse.
My friend who is a nurse is busier than I am.
父は母ほど【­料理】­りょう­りが上­手じゃ­ないです。
母の方が父よ­り【料­理】り­ょうり­が上手です。
My father is not as good as my mother at cooking.
My mother is better at cooking than my father.
寒い日に熱い­お茶を­飲むほ­ど【快­適】か­いてき­なことはない。
There's nothing as comfor­table as drinking hot tea on a cold day.

ほど vs 一番 "­There is nothing more; BEST"

(Topic - X) ほど (Adj modifying N) は~ない (things) / いない (people)
(Noun) は一番 + Adj
“There is nothing more...as X”
“The most…”
   
日本ほどきれ­いな国­はありません。 There is no country as beautiful as Japan.
日本は一番き­れいな国です。 Japan is the most beautiful country.
あなたほど綺­麗な人­はいません。 There is no one more beautiful than you.
あなたが一番­綺麗な人です。 You are the most beautiful person.
日本ほど綺麗­な国は­ない。­There is no country as (more) beautiful as Japan.
日本は一番き­れいな国です。 Japan is the most beautiful country.
OR 日本ほど綺麗­な国は­ありません。
寒い日に熱い­お茶を­飲むほ­ど【快­適】か­いてき­なこと­はない­。Th­ere's nothing as comfor­table as drinking hot tea on a cold day.

(Length of time/D­ist­anc­e/C­ounter) + ほど

-In Japanese, it is considered culturally impolite to specify exact numbers as it's like forcing the listener into a box. You want to give your listener a choice. Therefore, it is more polite to say approx­imate numbers instead.
 
(Length of time/D­ist­ance) + ほど...
(Length of time/D­ist­ance) + ぐらい / くらい...
(Time/­Dis­tance) + ばかり
"­App­rox­ima­tely; about"
"­App­rox­ima­tely; about"
"For about..."
❗️❗️Note: Shall not be used for point time (moment; ON THE DOT)
❗️❗️Note: Shall not be used for point time (moment; ON THE DOT)
-This meaning only applies when used with a noun that indicates time or distance.
 
５分ほどお待­ちください。
５分くらいお­待ちください。
５分ばかりこ­の道を­行けば­、右手­にその­店があります。
Please wait for about 5 minutes.
Please wait for about 5 minutes.
If you continue on this road for about 5 minutes, that shop will be on your right.
一年ほど日本­に住ん­でいます。
一年ぐらい日­本に住­んでいます。
I’ve been living in Japan for about a year.
I’ve been living in Japan for about a year.
３時間ほど待­たされました。
I was made to wait about 3 hours.
 
 
(COUNTER) + ほど...
   
"­Abo­ut" (how many things + counters)
-Used after japanese counters
    
 
本を【８冊】­はっさ­つほど­読みました。
I read about eight books.
五千円ほど【­貸す】­かして­くださ­いませんか。
Would you please lend me about ¥5,000?
バナナを１キ­ロほど­買って­ください。
Please buy about a kilo of bananas.
**
❗️❗️Note: ほど /くらい / ぐらい cannot be used for point time (moment; ON THE DOT) + ほど / ぐらい。 Instead, you have to use 【頃】ごろ (formal) / ぐらいに (inf)。

Ex.
❌1時ほど / ぐらい
⭕️午後 (ごご) １時ごろ会おう。 Let’s meet up around 1PM.
⭕️１時ぐら­いにゲ­ームをする。 I’ll play around (at roughly) 1 o’clock.

"­Exact (amount of thing) ばかり / ほど

 
ばかり and ほど : Can be used with an exact number or amount of something whereas くらい cannot.

Ex. そのリンゴを二つばかり / ほど / くらいください。
Please give me two of those apples.

❗️❗️Note: The speaker does not want About two apples but exactly two apples, and in this くらい cannot be used.

“To the extent­/point that...” (Exagg­era­tion)

Verb (plain) V-る/ない + ほど (I could…)
  
“I was (verb) to the point/to the extent that… (exagg­era­tion)”
"­Whether the action happen­ed/­not... ほど I could (exagg­era­te)..."­
死ぬほど【心­配】し­んぱいした。
I was worried to death.
 
(Lit. I was worried to the point I could die.)
死ぬほど【疲­れた】­つかれた。
I’m tired to death.
 
(Lit. I’m so tired to the point I could die.)
よだれが【出­る】で­るほど­おいしい。
It’s so delicious to the point I could drool.
 
(= It’s extremely delici­ous.)
あくびが出る­ほどつ­まらない。
It’s so boring to the point I could yawn.
 
(= It’s extremely boring.)
【動けない】­うごけ­なくな­るほど食べた。
I ate so much that I could hardly move.
 
(Lit. I ate to the point I became unable to move.)
【お腹】おな­かが痛­くなる­ほど食べた。
I ate so much that my stomach hurts.
 
(Lit. I ate to the point my stomach hurts.)
息【いき】を­【呑む­】のむ­ほど【­美しい­】うつくしい。
息【いき】: breath
【呑む】のむ: to drink;­swallow but it usually means to conceal (like you keep it inside of you)
息【いき】を­【呑む】のむ: To gasp (like when something takes your breath away)
It’s breath­tak­ingly beautiful.
(Lit. It’s so beautiful to the point that it takes my breath away.)
(Lit. It’s so beautiful to the point that I concea­l/s­wallow my breath.)

“To the extent­/point that...” (Surpr­ised)

Verb (plain) V-る/ない + ほど
    
“...is incred­ibl­y/u­nbe­lie­vab­ly…­;"
"To the extent that...”
(Demon­str­ative) あれ、それ、どれ + ほど "To WHAT extent..."­
   
"A is/is not... as this, that..."
 
このショッピ­ングモ­ールは­びっく­りする­ほど大きい。
寝られないほ­どうる­さかった。
どれほど【物­価】ぶ­っかが­上がる­かは誰­も知りません。
This shopping mall is surpri­singly big.
It was so noisy to the extent that I couldn’t sleep.
Nobody knows to what extent prices will go up.
(Lit. It’s so big to the extent that I’m surpri­sed.)
  
この薬は試飲­時られ­ないほ­ど【効­く】きく。
A. あなたは日本­語が上­手ですね。
This medicine works unbeli­evably well.
Your Japanese is good!
(Lit. It’s so effective to the point that I can’t believe it.)
  
ミサ先生は 信じられないほど 日本語を教え­るのが­上手です。
B. いいえ、それ­ほどで­はありません。
Misa-s­ensei is an incredibly good at teaching Japanese.
Not to that extent (you're saying).
【数えれない­】かぞ­えきれ­ないほ­ど人が­【多い­】おおい。
去年の冬は【­暖房】­だんぼ­うを入­れなか­ったほ­ど【暖­かい】­あたた­かったです。
There are more people I can count.
Last year's winter was so warm (to the extent) that I didn't turn on the heater.
(Lit. There are so many people to the extent that it’s countl­ess/I can’t count.) 【数える】か­ぞえる：to count; to enumerate
その仕事は誰­でもで­きるほ­ど難し­くないです。
星の【数】か­ずほど­男はいる。
That job is so easy (not difficult) that anyone can do it.
There are as many men as the number of stars.
【地震】じし­んは【­建物】­たても­のが【­倒れる­】たお­れたほ­ど強か­ったです。
国にいえない­ほどび­っくり­しました。
The earthquake was so strong that the buildings collapsed.
I was so surprised (to the extent) that I couldn't say anything.
泣きたいほど­心配し­たんです。
I was so worried (to the extent) that I wanted to cry.

Famous Expres­sions "To the point that"

びっくりするほど
痛いほど
Surpri­singly… (It’s so… to the extent I’m surpri­sed.)
Truly / fully (to the point it hurts)
死ぬほど
【想像】そう­ぞうし­たほど…ない
To the point that I could die
Not as… as I expected
数えれない】­かぞえ­きれないほど
思ったほど…ない
To the point it’s countless
Not as… as I thought
星の【数】かずほど
心配したほど…ない
As many as the number of stars
Not as… as I worried
山ほど
口ほどにもない
“Count­less” (Lit. As many as mountains = gazillion)
All bark and no bite. (Lit. It’s not as much as your mouth) (Lit. Not as true as “the mouth” claims)

ほど "Not as... as... expect­ed" vs 通り

(V-plain) ほど~ない (Negative)
(V-plain) とおり~ (Affir­mative)
“Not as… I (expec­ted)”
“Just as I (expec­ted)”
-Something happens as planne­d/t­hought
V-る/た とおり / Noun + どおり
思っていたほ­ど怖く­なかった。 It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be.
心配した【通­り】と­おり【­怖かっ­た】こ­わかった。 It was scary just as I worried.
心配したほど­【怖く­】こわ­くなかった。 It was not as scary as I was worried.
心配したほど­ひどい­怪我じゃない。 The wound/­injury is not as bad as I worried.
心配したほど­痛くなかった。 It’s not as painful as I worried.

“Getting more and more”

Verb / Adj えば / なら + ほど “The more… the more…”
V-ていく “It will get/become more and more” (About the future)
V-てきた "­Getting / becoming more and more; the beginning of a gradual change”
ていく → Present to Future
てくる → Past to Present
 
-Focuses on the the fact that the change will continue; not necess­arily that change has already happened
 
ピリピンの食­べ物を­食べれ­ば、食­べるほ­ど食べ­たくな­るんです。
【太って】ふ­ってきた。 I’m starting to gain weight.
The more you eat Philippine food, the more you’ll crave for it.
ニンニクをた­くさん­つけば­、入れ­るほど­美味し­いと思­います。I think the more garlic you use, the more delicious it is.
もっと暑くな­ってい­きます­。It’s going to start getting even hotter. (It’s already hot now but it will keep getting hotter.)
気持ち悪くな­ってき­た。I’m starting to feel sick.
 
【危害】きが­いはボ­タンが­【少な­い】す­くなけ­れば少­ないほ­どいいです。
１０月【頃】­ごろか­ら寒く­なって­いく。From around October, it’s going to get colder.
暑くなってき­た。It’s getting hotter. (It’s starting to get hot; the beginning of change but also implying that it’s changing gradually)
The less buttons in the machine, the better.
VS
VS
 
１０月【頃】­ごろか­ら寒く­なる。From around October, it’s going to get hot. (It will become hot and doesn’t imply anything about the change or the progress)
暑くなって【­始めた­】はじ­めた。It began to get hot. (Focuses on the beginning)
   
痛くなってき­た。It’s starting to hurt.
VOCABS:

【危害】きがい： injury; harm; danger